LISD Center for a Sustainable Future taking shape

ADRIAN TWP. — Concrete floors were being poured this past week at the Lenawee Intermediate School District’s new Center for a Sustainable Future on Tipton Highway in Adrian Township.

The $3.9 million center will feature geothermal heating and cooling; a 56-kilowatt array of solar panels; an accessible vegetative roof; a 10,000-gallon cistern to collect rainwater for irrigation and possibly other uses; natural day lighting; and special attention to insulation, all aimed at making the building a “net-zero” energy consumer — meaning it will produce at least as much energy as it consumes.

The goal is not advocacy, but to give students a chance to study these systems and compare them to other, more conventional energy systems, Philp said.

“The whole Center for a Sustainable Future campus is really about learning,” he said. “The building is just the vehicle to learn and study.”

When the new center is done, the LISD Tech Center agritech and ornamental horticulture programs, now housed at LISD Tech on North Main Street in Adrian, will move to the new building full-time, Philp said. Some agritech classes already take place in older buildings on the site.

The new, 8,400 square-foot center includes an agritech classroom and laboratory, a horticulture classroom and a new greenhouse, as well as a meeting room and mechanical systems room.

Part of the roof of the building will be covered by photovoltaic panels to convert sunlight to electricity, and freestanding rows of the solar panels also are being built close to the building.

The northwest side of the building is banked against a large earth berm to take advantage of the earth’s insulating qualities.

There will be 13 geothermal wells sunk 350 to 400 feet to circulate water to take advantage of the deep earth’s constant temperature for heating and cooling.

The greenhouse will have automatically controlled ventilation panels and shades and in-floor radiant heat.

Water from the cistern will be used for irrigation and — if state permits are obtained — uses such as flushing toilets.

The agriculture program, which has used part of the 75-acre site for farming for 10 to 12 years, will focus on sustainable agriculture, Philp said. That does not mean it will all be about organic agriculture, though there will be units on that, he said. Students will have a chance to study the use of natural pesticides and fertilizers and compare them to more conventional kinds, as well as study other sustainable farming techniques, Philp said.

The horticulture program needed a new home because the LISD sold Jackson Community College the land at LISD Tech on which the horticulture building stands, Philp said.

While the new center is primarily aimed at LISD Tech students, it could provide study opportunities for students from throughout the county and will host some of LISD’s science, technology, engineering and math summer camps, he said.

At least 80 students will use the new building every day, and many more on a part-time or occasional basis, Philp said.

He also sees the possibility of some post-secondary institutions — Jackson Community College or even Michigan State University — using the site for some programs.

Construction of the new center began in August and is expected to be done by late February or early March, Philp said. The LISD will pay for the project out of savings specifically for it, he said. The LISD also has grants from the Consumers Energy Foundation, DTE Energy Foundation and Robert E. Price Foundation Inc. to build the center, Philp said.

Clark Construction of Lansing is acting as the construction manager. LISD hired 22 separate contractors to do the work.

Philp said the new center was the vision of former LISD superintendent Steve Krusich, who retired in 2010.

Krusich said the LISD bought the 75 acres on Tipton Highway in 2000 as a space for its always popular agritech program to grow crops and experiment. He was always reading and researching new ways to help students in the job market, Krusich said.

“It became very clear that one of the emerging fields is around sustainability practices,” he said.

That led to a general sketch of what the new center would look like by the time he left, Krusich said.

He is pleased with what has happened since then, he said.

“It is always gratifying when, as a school superintendent, things that you see as critical for the future seem to take root,” Krusich said.

Phips said he expects the center to be fully operational by next fall. The dedication is expected to be April 22, Earth Day.